Wal-Mart will start Cyber Monday a day early

FinextraCyber Monday unofficially has become Cyber Sunday for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as the retail giant looks to capitalize on the projected surge in consumers shopping online that has become a common feature of the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Wal-Mart, No. 3 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide, will make its online deals available to shoppers a day early, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. It’s the first time Wal-Mart has started the e-commerce shopping holiday early.

In a post announcing the promotion, Wal-Mart says the move was made after the company noticed an annual spike in traffic to Walmart.com on the night before Cyber Monday. “By starting ‘Cyber Monday’ hours earlier on Sunday evening and quadrupling the number of Cyber Monday specials, we’re making it easier for customers to get ahead of the busiest online shopping day of the year and save on the best gifts,” Walmart.com president and CEO Fernando Madeira says.

Wal-Mart’s data projects that 4K TVs, 3-D printers and Beats by Dre headphones among other items will be more popular than ever this year than last based on search trends throughout the year, which is why the retailer will offer more of those products on Cyber Monday.

Wal-Mart isn’t alone in pulling out all the stops to earn online shoppers’ business, however.

Target Corp. (No. 16 in the Top 500) announced today will offer 15% off all products on Target.com on Cyber Monday, plus deeper discounts with up to an additional 50% or more on select items.

In a blog post titled “Why Cyber Monday Matters Now More than Ever,” Target.com president Jason Goldberger writes that part of the company’s Cyber Monday push is aimed at better reaching younger shoppers.

“A recent survey shows that 93% of millennials plan to shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, with nearly half of those planning to shop both days equally,” he writes. “This is our way of rising above the noise of all the other sales to show deal-seekers that Target’s deals really are amazing.”